Storage Area Networks (SANs) provide an important data storage solution for modern data centers. SANs are primarily used to enhance storage devices accessibility to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices to the operating system. Examples of the storage devices include Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) and disk arrays such as SAN arrays. By providing block-level storage that can be accessed by any networked servers, SANs provide a consolidated data storage while offering increased system performance.
SANs also offer excellent capacities for data backup and disaster recovery. Because data can be transferred between storage devices without interacting with a server, a SAN can accelerate the data backup process and conserve the processing power of the server Central Processing Unit (CPU).
Among various protocols that enable SANs, Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) is a popular technology. ISCSI can enable location-independent data storage over local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), or the Internet.